Angel Campey – chosen as one of Mail and Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans of 2018 – has brand of observational humour has been dubbed as comedy for the discerning young South African and nothing short of hilarious. Tackling sensitive issues from racism and white privilege with wit and charm, to professing her love for Beyoncé and glitter, award-winning writer, radio host and stand-up comedian, Angel Campey, is fast-becoming a leading voice in South African comedy.

“I’ve always been interested in being on stage. From the age of four, I’d ask to tell the class a story instead of the teacher reading one,” reminisces Campey. “I thought that this love of talking on stage meant I wanted to be an actress. I always knew I was funny, but so what? As a woman, it never crossed my mind to become a comedian,” she says.

However, in 2011, Campey took the plunge and in a few months made it into the finals of the prestigious Parker’s Comedy Showdown in Johannesburg, being the only female in the top 10 and beating 50 other hopefuls in the standup comedy battles.

Her career took off with proverbial angel wings and Campey quickly became a staple on major comedy stages nationwide and an annual fixture at festivals such as Rocking the Daisies, Synergy Live, Rock the River and Up the Creek. Her success earned her a seat as one of the resident queens on Comedy Central’s Kings and Queens of Comedy. Her comedy has also been featured on DSTV’s Comedy Central channel, and she was invited to perform a comedic TED Talk, which was livestreamed to millions worldwide. Her career has taken her to headline at some of the top comedy clubs in New York City, performing to a standing ovation at Just For Laughs in Montreal Canada, and to an arena show in Lagos, Nigeria alongside African superstar comedian, Basketmouth.

Despite her comparatively short career in comedy, she has two comedy specials under her belt; Yes, Really Angel and Devil’s Advocate which both launched at the South African National Arts Festival in Grahamstown to rave reviews, and the latter enjoyed a sold out run and standing ovations in its debut year in 2017. The talented comedian also writes for the multi-award winning TV satire news show, ZANews, ZANews’ Puppet Nation,Point of Order on Showmax to name a few.

A sought-after MC, Campey can also be heard on the airwaves. She was offered her own weekly Comedy Hour on Smile 90.4FM, one of Cape Town’s top radio stations, after a short stint on the Smile Drive, standing in for the regular drivetime host for three months. Campey’s quick wit and easy laugh secured her a more permanent position and now she presents a comedy-centric show on Smile 90.4 FM every Sunday from 20h00 to 21h00 with fellow comedian Phil de Lange.